a region of space under the influence of some scalar quantity, such as temperature

15.

(maths) a set of entities subject to two binary operations, addition and multiplication, such that the set is a commutative group under addition and the set, minus the zero, is a commutative group under multiplication and multiplication is distributive over addition

16.

(maths, logic) the set of elements that are either arguments or values of a function; the union of its domain and range

17.

(computing)

a set of one or more characters comprising a unit of information

a predetermined section of a record

18.

(television) one of two or more sets of scanning lines which when interlaced form the complete picture

19.

(obsolete) the open country: beasts of the field

20.

hold the field, keep the field, to maintain one's position in the face of opposition

21.

in the field

(military) in an area in which operations are in progress

actively or closely involved with or working on something (rather than being in a more remote or administrative position)

22.

lead the field, to be in the leading or most pre-eminent position

23.

(informal) leave the field, to back out of a competition, contest, etc

24.

take the field, to begin or carry on activity, esp in sport or military operations

25.

(informal) play the field, to disperse one's interests or attentions among a number of activities, people, or objects

26.

(modifier) (military) of or relating to equipment, personnel, etc, specifically designed or trained for operations in the field: a field gun, a field army

verb

27.

(transitive) (sport) to stop, catch, or return (the ball) as a fielder

28.

(transitive) (sport) to send (a player or team) onto the field to play

29.

(intransitive) (sport) (of a player or team) to act or take turn as a fielder or fielders

30.

(transitive) (military) to put (an army, a unit, etc) in the field

31.

(transitive) to enter (a person) in a competition: each party fielded a candidate

32.

(transitive) (informal) to deal with or handle, esp adequately and by making a reciprocal gesture: to field a question

Word Origin

Old English feld; related to Old Saxon, Old High German feld, Old English fold earth, Greek platus broad

field

n.

Old English feld "plain, open land" (as opposed to woodland), also "a parcel of land marked off and used for pasture or tillage," probably related to Old English folde "earth, land," from Proto-Germanic *felthuz "flat land" (common West Germanic, cf. Old Saxon and Old Frisian feld "field," Old Saxon folda "earth," Middle Dutch velt, Dutch veld Old High German felt, German Feld "field," but not found outside it; Swedish fält, Danish felt are borrowed from German), from PIE *pel(e)-tu-, from root *pele- (2) "flat, to spread" (see plane (n.1)).

Finnish pelto "field" is believed to have been adapted from Proto-Germanic. The English spelling with -ie- probably is the work of Anglo-French scribes (cf. brief, piece). Collective use for "all engaged in a sport" (or, in horseracing, all but the favorite) is 1742; play the field "avoid commitment" (1936) is from notion of gamblers betting on other horses than the favorite. Field glasses attested by 1836.

v.

"to go out to fight," 16c., from field (n.) in the specific sense of "battlefield" (Old English). The meaning "to stop and return the ball" is first recorded 1823, originally in cricket; figurative sense is from 1902. Related: Fielded; fielding.

A distribution in a region of space of the strength and direction of a force, such as the electrostatic force near an electrically charged object, that would act on a body at any given point in that region. See also electric field, magnetic field.

The region whose image is visible to the eye or accessible to an optical instrument.

A set of elements having two operations, designated addition and multiplication, satisfying the conditions that multiplication is distributive over addition, that the set is a group under addition, and that the elements with the exception of the additive identity (0) form a group under multiplication. The set of all rational numbers is a field.

In a database, a space for a single item of information contained in a record.

An interface element in a graphical user interface that accepts the input of text.

field

The Dictionary of American Slang, Fourth Edition by Barbara Ann Kipfer, PhD. and Robert L. Chapman, Ph.D.Copyright (C) 2007 by HarperCollins Publishers.Cite This Source

cyrus field in the Bible

(Heb. sadeh), a cultivated field, but unenclosed. It is applied to any cultivated ground or pasture (Gen. 29:2; 31:4; 34:7), or tillage (Gen. 37:7; 47:24). It is also applied to woodland (Ps. 132:6) or mountain top (Judg. 9:32, 36; 2 Sam. 1:21). It denotes sometimes a cultivated region as opposed to the wilderness (Gen. 33:19; 36:35). Unwalled villages or scattered houses are spoken of as "in the fields" (Deut. 28:3, 16; Lev. 25:31; Mark 6:36, 56). The "open field" is a place remote from a house (Gen. 4:8; Lev. 14:7, 53; 17:5). Cultivated land of any extent was called a field (Gen. 23:13, 17; 41:8; Lev. 27:16; Ruth 4:5; Neh. 12:29).